"Many people remember their parents or grandparents stockpiling large quantities of supplies in the cellar or pantry. In addition to the medicine chest, there were also various remedies and methods for treating minor illnesses, from chicken soup to onion tea," explains Professor Matthias Rohs from the Center for Disaster Research at RPTU and responsible for the PREP research project (Informal and self-directed learning processes of the population in the field of emergency preparedness), which is funded by the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). "We live in times of permanent availability. This makes the need to be prepared for disaster situations seem to fade into the background."

However, the exact opposite is the case. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and coronavirus may not be the last pandemic to disrupt supply chains. "Of course, we have a well-organized state civil protection system," Rohs continues. "However, the population must be aware that in the event of major incidents, the state civil protection service will first prioritize general aid over individual aid. It will first build the necessary bridge before pumping out cellars. It will also have to prioritize the injured and treat the most seriously injured first. For this reason, parts of the population will have to bridge a certain period of time with self-help."

The Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research was commissioned to conduct a survey in order to obtain a well-founded overview of how well prepared the population is to help themselves in an emergency. Among other things, it looked at private stockpiling and skills that are helpful and important in emergencies, such as dealing with exceptional situations or medical self-care. "The results were sobering and show the great need for action: Not even every second citizen has ever dealt with the topic of emergency care," the professor of adult education sums it up.

Among other things, people were asked what food they keep at home and how long they could store it for. Around 45% stated that they were well equipped in this respect and could bridge the ten-day period recommended by the BBK. However, only a third of this well-stocked proportion of the population are able to prepare the food they have stored without a power supply. However, power cuts could pose a particular challenge when it comes to emergencies caused by natural disasters such as flooding. According to the survey, only around a third of the total population have general knowledge about what to do in emergency situations, such as extreme weather conditions. However, the study also revealed that there is a large knowledge gap within society. "Only around a fifth of women, young people or people with a low socio-economic status answered that they were sufficiently informed. These people should therefore be given special attention," explains Rohs.

Many of those surveyed are aware of their knowledge gaps and would like to receive further training in this area. "The results show that people who are involved in emergency preparedness are also much better prepared for emergencies. The desire for further training in this area is a great opportunity to significantly increase the population's resilience," the scientist continues. To this end, every second respondent would like to see local offers. Adult education centres and civil protection organizations could make important contributions here.

In times of increasing natural disasters and hybrid threats, which can lead to power grid failures as well as digital infrastructure and services, this poses particular challenges for civil protection. Against this backdrop, the question of citizens' personal responsibility is becoming more important again. "People's ability to help themselves and protect themselves is an important basis for civil protection. Civil protection organizations can only supplement these skills with their special capabilities. People need to become aware of this again," Rohs concludes from the survey results. Accordingly, old knowledge and habits about first aid measures, stockpiling and self-sufficiency need to be retrieved from the depths of social memory or refreshed. After evaluating the results of the survey, the project group recommends making important knowledge for self-protection and self-help in disaster situations easily accessible to as broad a section of the population as possible, thereby strengthening the resilience of the population as a whole in disaster situations.

Further information:

Overview of the PREP project:
https://sowi.rptu.de/fgs/paedagogik/forschung/projekte-erwachsenenbildung/projektuebersicht/prep

The Centre for Disaster Research at RPTU in Kaiserslautern specializes in interdisciplinary research into disasters and how to deal with them.
https://rptu.de/zentren/cidr

The BBK portal "Prepared for any eventuality" provides comprehensive information on self-protection in the event of a disaster:
https://www.bbk.bund.de/DE/Warnung-Vorsorge/Vorsorge/Fuer-alle-Faelle-vorbereitet/fuer-alle-faelle_node.html